Body Positive Movement - For or against?

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Fat acceptance shouldn't be a thing. Everyone should try to be as healthy as they can be. People like Tess Holliday has a huge negative impact on the health of her followers. This movement wants Doctors (medical professionals) to stop using the medical term "obesity" and that is just wrong. I'm against fat shaming, no one should be bullied.

Fat acceptance shouldn't be a thing. Everyone should try to be as healthy as they can be. People like Tess Holliday has a huge negative impact on the health of her followers. This movement wants Doctors (medical professionals) to stop using the medical term "obesity" and that is just wrong. I'm against fat shaming, no one should be bullied.

That's why you have shoes instead of a car, right?

Too wooers say "trying to be as healthy as possible is only for other people to do!" 🤣

Just got on to my Health Savings Account website login page. The models were a morbidly obese couple. I'm all for being body positive but questioning that web design given the nature of the site.

So you think Health Savings Accounts should only be for people who are already fit? Isn't that like limiting college savings accounts to people who already have degrees, or retirement savings accounts to people who have trust funds?

I believe a person needs to learn to love and accept his/her body no matter the size and shape. If you are not in a positive place you cannot grow or have meaningful change. Having the media bombard you with only one acceptable body option makes accepting yourself very difficult; if not impossible.

What we need to see is people who are all different shapes and sizes and abilities. What I think is lacking is a look at overall health and what people are doing to reach health goals. Understanding the impacts of how you are eating and your physical activity is important. It is also important to have a health care provider or trainer who can provide factual information on your choices and guide you down a path to overall health. I believe that whole foods and healthy options need to be subsidized and accessible to everyone. And having dessert or a burger is a good thing! The gym, team activities or sidewalk should be a place where everyone is supported.

It took me a very long time to accept where I am and that I need to implement change to keep my body and mind healthy. For me this means losing weight, gaining muscle and making informed food choices. I want to reduce my risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and arthritis. I want to see my niece and nephew grow-up.

Support health and happiness. Support everyone. You have no idea where they are or even how far some of them have come. One conversation or action can help someone on their journey or completely destroy it.

I don't like its connection to "health at every size." I believe in self-worth at every size, love and acceptance at every size and try to be healthy at every size but there are clear health and fitness benefits to being at a healthy weight.
I do also agree that there is a strong prejudice against being overweight in society and in the medical community and think all people should be treated with respect by their doctors, etc. I've heard of doctors not taking obese patients' complaints seriously and treat everything with a blanket statement- "it's because of your weight." At the same time a doctor should bring up losing weight as a health priority. I see both sides but think some of the movement takes it too far.

There’s a difference between a healthy body and a perfect body. Especially because a perfect body depends on the person, the person’s sports and activities, the person’s health issues, etc. There can’t be one perfect body. That being said, the movement is on the right track but not very much doing the right thing in my opinion. I mean, it’s good to love your body, but more people are just using it as an excuse to be lazy, eat whatever they want, and not get off the couch. It’s pretty much promoting obesity. On the other hand, nobody should be ashamed about things out of their control, and self respect is important. Being perfect shouldn’t be obsessed over, which is what the movement is doing right. Even still, I think the body positive movement should be more centered on loving yourself and in response, taking care of yourself instead of the opposite.

There’s a difference between a healthy body and a perfect body. Especially because a perfect body depends on the person, the person’s sports and activities, the person’s health issues, etc. There can’t be one perfect body. That being said, the movement is on the right track but not very much doing the right thing in my opinion. I mean, it’s good to love your body, but more people are just using it as an excuse to be lazy, eat whatever they want, and not get off the couch. It’s pretty much promoting obesity. On the other hand, nobody should be ashamed about things out of their control, and self respect is important. Being perfect shouldn’t be obsessed over, which is what the movement is doing right. Even still, I think the body positive movement should be more centered on loving yourself and in response, taking care of yourself instead of the opposite.

How do you know if it's an excuse or a personal choice? And why the stereotyping? It doesn't take a huge surplus to become overweight, so the difference between someone who is overweight and someone who isn't could literally be no more than an extra apple or a few less active minutes a day.

Which means it doesn't take a huge deficit to lose weight, as the math and chemistry works in both directions. A few hundred fewer calories in, a few hundred more calories used by moving more and pretty soon the excess weight comes off.

I think most critics here are not critical of those who are being honest about where they are. What's wrong with saying, "I'm fat, but I don't have to stay this way?" That's a positive and realistic statement. I may have posted it here or in another thread where there was the UK actress who claimed she'd tried every diet and must have a slow metabolism. When her claims were checked scientifically she was grossly underestimating her calorie consumption. (They used doubly labeled water as part of the test.)

Heck, even if you eat fast food, you can make some decent substitutions and cut the calories in a meal.

Compare two meals at McDonalds, no drink A Quarter Pounder with Cheese (I think some places in the world call this a Royal or similar name) and a medium fries is 850 calories, 87.7g of carbs, 12.4g of fat and 33 g of protein.

Replace the burger with an artisan grilled chicken sandwich and replace the fries with 2 packs of apple slices and your meal becomes 410 calories, 52g of carbs, 6g of fat and 36g of protein.

Half the calories and just as filling.

But we all know the person eating the first meal and then telling us he or she cannot possibly lose weight.

I don't think anyone is against body positive as long as it's not delusional. It seems to me, what people are against is the delusional position some take in the name of being body positive.

How do you know if it's an excuse or a personal choice? And why the stereotyping? It doesn't take a huge surplus to become overweight, so the difference between someone who is overweight and someone who isn't could literally be no more than an extra apple or a few less active minutes a day.

Which means it doesn't take a huge deficit to lose weight, as the math and chemistry works in both directions. A few hundred fewer calories in, a few hundred more calories used by moving more and pretty soon the excess weight comes off.

What's wrong with saying, "I'm fat, but I don't have to stay this way?"

Absolutely nothing is wrong with that and weight loss is possible in most cases. There is nothing wrong with "I'm fat and staying fat is a good choice for me", either. Ignoring that body positivity, as a concept, is weight blind, there is absolutely no reason to assume things about people just because they look a certain way and like it, especially if it's meant as a derogatory statement. Although there is the odd case that fits that description, weight issues are usually more complex than a simple "I want to be a lazy slob who lives on the couch and eats all day".